


The Worst Gig

by milfordb



Category: Splatoon
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Musicians, Struggle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 17:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11468100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milfordb/pseuds/milfordb
Summary: Pearl is a struggling musician in Inkopolis.  One night after a particularly awful gig she runs into some bad luck and is on track to having the worst night of her life.  But as she's about to leave, an unfamiliar Octoling gets up onstage, and Pearl witnesses a life-changing performance.This is a story of how Pearl and Marina (possibly) met.





	The Worst Gig

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved how in Splatoon, Callie and Marie used to be struggling musicians with part time jobs and playing dive venues before they landed their Inkopolis News gig. It got me thinking about how Pearl and Marina possibly met, which led to this story.
> 
> This is being published before the game's release, so no promises as to if this will fit in the canon or not. If it doesn't, eh, we'll call it an AU later.

"THANK YOU! I'M PRINCESS PEARL AND I HAVE CD'S FOR SALE! STICK AROUND FOR HIGHTIDE ERA! GOODNIGHT!"

There was scattered applause from the room as Pearl threw up her hand sign. She put the microphone back on the stand, then unplugged her laptop from the house PA. Folding it closed, she tucked it under her arm, and looked out at the bar. Everyone had already turned back to their conversations, the memory of her fifteen minute performance already gone.

"Jerks," Pearl muttered with a sigh as walked to the side of the stage, where her bag was sitting crumpled up in a heap. She picked it up, hesitated at how light it felt, and started searching through it.

"No. Oh my god no," she sputtered, turning the bag upside down and shaking it. Several stickers with her name and logo fluttered out, along with several CD's in jewel cases. What didn't fall out was her laptop charger.

She looked up and around the bar. She had been so engrossed in her performance she hadn't seen anyone sneak up. She threw the bag against the wall in frustration, and set down on the edge of the stage. She buried her face in her hands, holding back tears.

With a deep breath she steadied herself, and looked around the room. Nobody had seen her meltdown. Good, because she didn't want them to. Bad, because it just drove home the point that nobody paid attention during her performance.

Pearl scooped up all her CD's and stickers, stuffed them along with her laptop back into her bag, and stomped over to the bar. She tried to hop up onto a stool, but it was high enough and she was short enough that she comically struggled with it. Finally, she got up on the seat, and flopped forward on her arms.

The bartender came up to her. "Y'allright?" he said, all his words running together.

"Can I get just, a beer?" Pearl said, looking up. "Any kind, I don't care."

The bartender adjusted his glasses. "Ya got ID?"

Pearl sat up, frowning. "Did you not just see me onstage? Of course I'm old enough! Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm underage!"

"I gotta see ID. That's the rules."

Pearl rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of her white track jacket. Her wallet wasn't there. She felt around in the other pocket, and pulled out a red ticket. Her wallet wasn't on her. Which means it was in her bag.

Pearl's heart sank.

"Oh my god," she said, clutching her head. "They stole my wallet too."

The bartender stood up straight. "No ID, no drink."

Pearl held out the ticket. "I'm old enough! They gave me a drink ticket! It's all I got for my set! C'mon, man!"

The bartender paused, and took the ticket from Pearl's hand. He then produced a plastic cup with ice, and filled with with soda. He slid it over to Pearl, who stared at it.

"Can you at least put a little rum in it or something?" she said.

"No can do. Now beat it, I got paying customers to tend to."

Pearl stared daggers through the bartender, gritting her teeth behind her lips. She hastily grabbed the soda and jumped off the stool.

Carrying the drink at her side, she marched across the bar to the bathroom. It was single-occupancy, and thankfully nobody was in it. She locked the door, threw the plastic cup into the toilet angrily, then started punching at the wall in frustration. She collapsed against wall in exhaustion, and turned around, facing the mirror in front of her.

Stickers and marker graffiti covered the walls and part of the mirror, and she could barely see her reflection. Her makeup was smudged, probably from her hands rubbing against it. Her cream colored tentacles hung sadly next to her face, their pink tips touching the underside of her chin. She brushed one to the side, then sadly moved it back after seeing how much attention it drew to her forehead. 

"You're not a failure," she said, pointing at her reflection. "You're doing your best. This will pass. You can get another ID. You can get a new wallet. You can borrow money to make rent. It's just paying your dues." With her eyes closed, she took a deep breath. As she opened them, she noticed the flyer taped to the bottom right of the mirror. It was for that night's show. High Tide Era was featured prominently across it, and her name was crammed all the way at the bottom, under the "special guests" section.

Pearl snatched the flyer off the mirror, and was about to crumple it up in frustration. She paused, and folded it up neatly instead, putting it into her bag. She then took out one of her stickers, peeled off the back, and went to place it where the flyer was previously. She stopped, though. Thinking for a moment, she stuck it directly in the center of the mirror, so nobody using the bathroom could see themselves without seeing her name and her crude, self-drawn logo of her face.

"I shoulda made the website bigger," she muttered to herself. She unlocked the bathroom door and walked back out.

She intended to leave, and was halfway to the door before something stopped her. The music playing wasn't the house sound. It was something different. Something she hadn't heard before. Something entrancing.

The next act was already performing. She had on an oversized black t-shirt, and was hunched over a DJ table that had been wheeled onstage. She was nervously fiddling with the knobs and switches, and stood up straight, brushing her long black tentacles to the side. 

Pearls eyes went wide. "An Octoling!" she said breathlessly. She took the flyer back out of her bag and unfolded it. Above her name in the special guests section was a very simple logo that said "DJ Marina".

Onstage Marina tapped on a button, and sighed in relief as the volume went up and a new layer of sound filled the room. It was unlike anything Pearl had heard before. The bass was intermittent, but raw, quaking her from the inside on every beat. Layered over it in stark contrast was a melody that was perky and popping. Pearl was already humming it to herself as she walked out onto the floor in front of the stage.

Marina didn't notice and was intensely focused on her table, adjusting knobs and sliders in a finite manner. Pearl could sense the tracks spiraling and curving; like an out of control vehicle swerving on a wet road. But in an instant all the adjustments snapped together, and Pearl felt goosebumps run up her entire body.

She was slack-jawed. Where did this girl come from? Was this some kind of new style of music from Octo Valley? And most importantly, why wasn't anybody paying attention? Looking around the bar, Pearl saw patrons ignoring the performance, leaning forward at their tables to talk to each other over the soud. Others were watching, but wrinkling their noses in disgust.

That got to Pearl. Did they not hear what was happening in this dingy, basement bar? She clenched her fists in anger.

Pearl ran out onto the floor, and started dancing. She whipped her head around, her tentacles slapping noisily against one another as she windmilled her arms. Then she started bouncing up and down with the beat, pointing her fingers to the sky. She didn't care of she looked foolish; she was swept up in the moment. Soon enough the entire bar was looking towards her, and towards the stage.

Time didn't exist to Pearl. She was just overtaken by the performance, and when the music faded out she came crashing back to reality. Up onstage, she saw Marina sheepishly looking out from her DJ table. She leaned over to the microphone.

"Um, I'm DJ Marina and thank you for watching my set-"

"YEAH!" Pearl yelled, clapping furiously. "YEAH! HELL YEAH! YEAAAAHHH!!!"

She was the only one applauding.

\- - - - -

Outside, Pearl frowned at her phone. Nobody had answered any of her texts. Granted, it was past midnight on a weeknight, and most of her friends had day jobs so staying up late wasn't in their schedule. At least, that's the excuse they gave her when she asked them to come to her shows. As irritated as she was by it, Pearl grunted in frustration as she paced back and forth on the sidewalk outside of the bar, trying to figure out how to get home.

Behind her there was a thudding noise. Pearl turned around, and panic gripped her as she saw Marina lugging a large black case up the stairs from the bar.

_Do I talk to her? She looks like she's busy. I'd just be in the way. But she was so amazing! I have to say something!_

Pearl cleared her throat. "Hey, great set tonight!" She called out.

Marina looked over and saw Pearl jogging up to her. She dropped the end of her trunk she was dragging.

"Oh, thank you!" Marina said, seeming confused and caught off-guard.

Pearl steeled herself, and walked forward, putting her hand out. "I'm Pearl. I went on before you."

Marina shook it lightly. "Oh yeah! I remember your set!"

Pearl nodded, smiling. "Did you like it?"

Marina bit her lip. "I... I'm sorry. I missed the last half of it. I was setting up my table and was trying to keep myself together." She clinched up. "I get really nervous onstage."

"Nervous?" Pearl yelled, clutching her head. "Are you kidding me? You have no reason to be nervous! Your music is AMAZING!" She motioned to the stairwell leading back down into the bar. "All those people in there? They have NO idea what they saw! You're gonna change the world with music like that!"

Marina was blushing. "I-uh. Oh my goodness!"

Pearl was pacing back and forth. "It's like, all my problems just melted away. I was having the worst night but hearing that just like, everything disappeared!" She turned toward Marina. "Do you have a CD? A site? Anything I can use to check out your other stuff?"

"Um," Marina looked to the side. "I don't own any recording equipment. I've only ever done live shows."

Pearl's jaw hung open. "Wait, you don't even have a CD? Or a website?"

Marina shook her head. "Not really, no."

Pearl staggered like she'd been punched, putting a hand against the wall. "Unbelieveable."

"D-do you have one?" Marina said. "I really did like what I heard from your set and I wanna hear more!"

Pearl snapped to attention with a wide grin. She reached into her bag and produced a clear jewel case. Inside was a burned CD with "PRINCESS PEARL'S PUNCH OUT EP" written on it in permanent marker. "Here, you can have it. Free. I couldn't sell them to anybody tonight anyways. Oh, and take some stickers too!" She stacked up several stickers on top of the case.

Marina placed the disc and stickers in her bag that was sitting on top of her trunk. "Thank you! I'll be sure to check it out!"

Pearl smiled, and then looked to the side. "Well, uh..." she rubbed the back of her head. "I should get going."

"Oh?" Marina said. "So soon?"

"Yeah," Pearl sighed. "I got a long walk since I lost my bus pass. Not like the buses run this late anyways."

"Lost it? What do you mean?"

Pearl winced. "My wallet got stolen during my set along with my laptop charger." She cutched the side of her head. "God, I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Marina thought for a moment, then opened up her bag. "What kind of laptop do you have?"

"What?" Pearl said.

Marina looked up. "Is it a Squidforce? Inkline? Forge?"

"Uh, a Squidforce."

Out of her bag Marina produced a laptop charger with the Squidforce X logo on the power brick. "Here, you can borrow mine."

Pearl drew in a breath. "W-w-what?? No! No way! You need this!"

Marina waved her hand dismissively. "I have a spare at home. You keep that until you can get yourself a new one."

Pearl took the charger, holding it in her hands in disbelief. "But I, we just met, and... and..." She then started to sob.

"What?" Marina said, her voice in a panic. "Wh-what did I do? Did I do something wrong?"

Pearl wiped her eyes. "I just, I've been doing shows for so long and by myself and bad stuff just keeps happening and-" she sniffed, and sobbed again, unable to finish as she fell back onto the sidewalk.

_Oh my god I'm such an embarrassment. She must think I'm a weirdo. The dancing didn't help. She's taking pity on me because I'm a failure._

Pearl was snapped back to attention as she felt something wiping her cheek. She looked over and Marina was kneeling next to her, a pocket pack of tissues in her hand.

"Hey," Marina said. "Come on. It'll be alright!

"I just," Pearl sputtered. She took one of the tissues and blew her nose. "Every show nobody ever pays attention to me or they make fun of me and say I'm ugly or I have a big forehead or just-" She blew her nose again, wiping it after. "None of my friends ever come either. I'm just trying my best every night and people treat me like garbage." She looked up at Marina, her makeup now completely smudged and running. "And then to top it all off I lose my wallet and I-" She blubbered again. Pearl then clutched the laptop charger to her chest.

"This is the nicest thing anybody's done for me in months."

Marina's eyes were wide and tearing up as well. She plopped down next to Pearl and wrapped her arms around her. "Shhhhh, it's okay. It's just a rough patch. You're gonna be okay."

Pearl sniffed again, wiping her nose. "Y-yeah." They sat for a moment on the sidewalk as Pearl's crying slowed down.

She finally spoke up. "I'm sorry, I- I've had a hard night."

"I can tell," Marina said.

Pearl chuckled, looking to the side. "This is really embarrassing. We just met and I'm acting like this."

"Hey, I've been there. Sometimes you get a lot pent up and you're just ready to fight the entire world because you're so angry. Then one person does something nice for you, and all of the sudden all that energy has to go somewhere." Marina ran her fingers down her cheeks to mimic crying. "Happens to the best of us."

Pearl smiled. "Yeah, but I'm a rapper! I'm supposed to be super tough!"

Marina smiled and covered her mouth mischievously. "That means I know your big secret. The little tough rapper's a huge softie."

"Hey!" Pearl said, giving Marina a playful shove. "Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation!"

Marina dragged two fingers across her chest, and held them up next to her with a snap of her wrist. "Octarian Honor. It's safe with me."

Pearl smiled and stood up, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. Marina took her phone out, and checked it.

"My ride should be here soon," Marina said. "Do you need a lift?"

"Oh no, I couldn't." Pearl said, waving her hands. "Not after you already-"

Marina shook her finger. "Nope, none of that. I'm not about to leave my new friend high and dry."

Pearl drew in a sharp breath and blushed.

A van came clambering noisily down the street towards them. Marina motioned with her head. "You coming or not?"

Pearl looked to the side, then back up. She nodded vigorously. "Th-thank you."

"You're welcome!" Marina said with as smile as the van pulled up. "I could use a hand with my equipment if you could."

Pearl nodded as she lifted up the side of the trunk closest to her.


End file.
